Durban - A businessman based in Dundee, in northern KwaZulu-Natal, says his life and business have been turned upside down after the uMzinyathi District Municipality delayed in paying him for services he rendered in January this year.
Simphiwe Mbatha of Zammagic (Pty) Ltd says he was contracted by the district municipality to supply bottled water to Zulu warriors during the commemoration of the Battle of Isandlwana in January this year.
The commemoration of the historic battle between Zulu and British forces was held at Isandlwana mountains in Nquthu. The district municipality stepped in because Nquthu falls under it.
It was then that Mbatha was roped in to provide water, and he later billed the municipality for R54 000.
Mbatha claims that he has been sent from pillar to post despite the fact that he submitted the invoice immediately after the services were rendered and everything was filed accordingly.
The municipality allegedly failed the pay the service provider within the stipulated 30-day period.
“I filed the invoice in January this year and up to this moment I have not been paid for the services rendered.
“When I enquired, I was told that the MM (municipal manager) had not signed the invoice. The story then changed when I was told that the MM had signed the invoice but it was now in the office of the CFO (chief financial officer) who was nowhere to be found. His phone is always off and there is no way to contact him,” Mbatha claimed.
The mayor of the district municipality, Petros Ngubane, said although he had nothing to do with issues of procurement, Mbatha should approach the municipal division which awarded the tender and deal with it.
“It is so strange that he can come up now and claim that he was not paid. That is mind-boggling. How come he missed out when others were being paid for services rendered in January since it has been eight months now? Why keep quiet for so long?” Ngubane said.
Ngubane said it would not help for Mbatha to try to embarrass his municipality by taking the matter to the media.
“Taking this matter to the press… It was never the press that helped him to get the work (the tender). If he got the tender from the municipality, he must approach it, not the press.”
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